Chapter 79: The Valley Bottom

Chapter 79: The Valley Bottom

Su Mo, clad in black and masked, was not surprising that Cheng Feiyu did not recognize him.

At this moment, Cheng Feiyu was also covered in wounds, clearly having paid a significant price to let Lou Jingjing escape.

"Brother Cheng."

As Su Mo spoke, he pulled down his mask.

Cheng Feiyu's eyes instantly sparkled with surprise. He opened his mouth to shout but quickly closed it again. After scanning the surroundings, he urgently whispered:

"Brother Su, how is it you? You were supposed to be escorting goods. Why are you here in Profound Theory Valley? This place is dangerous; Brother Su, leave quickly!"

True to his righteous nature, upon seeing Su Mo, Cheng Feiyu thought not of having Su Mo save him but worried about Su Mo risking himself. He urged Su Mo to retreat immediately.

Su Mo felt a deep sense of gratitude at this moment.

Inside Yi Zhaung, when the Ghost King of Yin Mountain captured people, Su Mo had no choice but to intervene. With the Ghost King acting right before them, they could not remain indifferent.

So when Yang Xiaoyun acted, Su Mo's sole intention was to stop the Ghost King, leaving no traces behind. Saving people was secondary.

Seeing Cheng Feiyu's sincere concern, Su Mo felt that despite the treacherousness of the world, there were still good-hearted people and the spirit of chivalry remained alive.

He took a deep breath, dispelling these thoughts, and whispered, "Brother Cheng, don't worry. I have a plan for being here. Are you being cautious because you've noticed something amiss?"

Logically, if no one was guarding him, why would Cheng Feiyu speak so furtively?

Hearing this, Cheng Feiyu calmed down slightly and whispered, "There are too many things wrong with this place. Profound Theory Valley is full of anomalies, and even the True Hermit might not be who he claims to be. In short, if Brother Su can get in, you can get out. Leave now, or else when those few people come, it will be too late."

"Those few people?"

Su Mo raised an eyebrow. "Who are they?"

"I don't know who they are... One pretends to be the True Hermit, another disguises as a Taoist boy, and the third is unmasked but extremely sinister, not like someone from the righteous path."

He looked at Su Mo. "Brother Su, your martial arts are formidable. After you leave here, I have a request. My junior sister Lou Jingjing is somewhere unknown, possibly still being hunted by the demons in this valley. Please help her."

"Brother Cheng, don't worry about Lady Lou. If we hadn't met her tonight, we wouldn't have found you."

"Brother Su has already seen my junior sister?"

Cheng Feiyu visibly relaxed. If Su Mo had seen her, then Lou Jingjing must be safe for now.

Su Mo nodded. "The people you mentioned... When did they arrive here? What are they doing here?"

Seeing that Su Mo had no intention of leaving, Cheng Feiyu hesitated for a moment and pointed. "Brother Su, look over there."

Su Mo followed his gaze to the low-lying area at the core of the deep valley.

From here, faint red light could be seen at the bottom, obscured by trees and strange rocks.

"There... someone is imprisoned."

Cheng Feiyu looked at Su Mo. "Brother Su should have heard of Yuliu Jianxin, Liu Suifeng!"

"..."

Su Mo had more than just heard of him; he had been searching for him all along.

But he did not show particular excitement, only asked calmly, "Brother Cheng, are you saying the person imprisoned below is Liu Suifeng?"

"Exactly."

Cheng Feiyu nodded. "The people I mentioned earlier come here three times a day—at the junctions of Zi-Chou, Mao-Chen, and You-Xu. Whenever they come, sword qi and bloodlight surge within the valley, entangled endlessly.

"At first, I was curious about the bloodlight, which seemed to be from the demonic cultists.

"But who was generating the sword qi?

"It wasn't until they occasionally talked that I learned the sword qi came from Yuliu Jianxin, Liu Suifeng!

"These people somehow captured Yuliu Jianxin, seemingly to turn him into some kind of... blood slave?"

Hearing this, Su Mo finally breathed a sigh of relief. This trip had indeed led him to the right place.

But Cheng Feiyu continued, "However, even Yuliu Jianxin may not last much longer under such torment. When I first arrived, his sword qi was still strong. But recently, it has weakened significantly. If this continues, he will be completely extinguished soon."

"Thank you, Brother Cheng."

Su Mo clasped his fists. "Brother Cheng, please bear with it a little longer. It's still early before You. I'll go see Yuliu Jianxin first."

"Brother Su, wait."

Cheng Feiyu called out to him.

"Is there anything else, Brother Cheng?"

"I don't know why Brother Su is here, but if you're going down, remember not to reveal yourself. Many of the people hanging here are forced and hate the demonic cultists deeply. But some have already submitted and want to escape by any means.

"If Brother Su is discovered by them, they might betray you."

"Thank you, Brother Cheng."

Su Mo nodded. "I'll be careful. Bear with it a little longer. I'll go down and investigate, then come back to tell you everything."

"Alright."

Cheng Feiyu nodded, and Su Mo's figure flickered as he departed.

The journey downward was uneventful, without any obstacles.

Upon reaching the bottom of the deep valley, Su Mo sighed.

At the bottom of the valley, there was a large stone platform constructed by human hands, with intricate patterns etched into its surface.

Blood flowed through these patterns, much like veins in operation.

At the very core of these patterns, a person was bound with their limbs locked, chained by iron links hanging from the surrounding rock walls, sitting cross-legged.

Though his eyes were tightly shut and he remained silent and motionless, a faint resonance of sword qi could be sensed.

On his head, Su Mo noticed three steel needles inserted deeply, with nearly half a foot protruding outside. At the ends of these needles hung peculiarly shaped bells, each inscribed with small characters: "Yaoquan!"

Su Mo stared intently at the person before him for a long while, then softly chuckled:

"Tricking gods and deceiving ghosts; you almost had me fooled."

His gaze lifted, filled with mockery.